Category: Games

6. Crazy Rich Asians

Crazy Rich Asians is fashion porn and wealth porn; you find yourself gawking at the massive estates, the expensive cars, the brand designer clothes, and the decadent wedding where the center aisle floods so the bride can walk on water. But the film is edited well and moves at a brisk pace. The cumulative effect is breezy and carefree rather than gross and exploitative.

These types of movies, which give us plebes a peek at how the other half lives, are best when they have a regular, middle class protagonist who we can identify with. In The Devil Wears Prada, it was Andy, played by Anne Hathaway. In Crazy Rich Asians, it’s Rachel, played by Constance Wu, who is dating the heir to a wealthy Singaporean family and is judged on her Asian-ness, her American-ness, and her lack of wealth and family pedigree.

The much-celebrated, all Asian cast — an extreme exception for an American production — was excellent. The two standouts were Gemma Chan, who played the role of Astrid, and action star Michelle Yeoh, who played the protective mother that Rachel must win over.

The inclusion of Asian men who are sexual, desirable, and fill a variety of narrative roles is an advancement that is both welcome and embarrassingly late. Hopefully, Crazy Rich Asians will be one of the last times that an Asian American film has to “break new ground.” Let’s go upwards and onwards, from here on out. — Kevin Wong

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The landscape of multiplayer games has changed significantly as more developers take on the games-as-a-service approach. So many multiplayer games look and feel much different in their current states compared to the launch product as new content, balance tweaks, and seasonal events transform the original experience. It’s what entices player bases to stick around for the long-haul and how these games continue to stay relevant well after release.

So, with our Best Evolving Multiplayer Games category, we look back at five games that underwent meaningful changes in 2018 and highlight what made these great experiences even better. For this category, initial release date and status as a final product were not factors, but rather our criteria was based on what made these games stand out and how they went above and beyond in the calendar year. In no particular order, the following are the five best evolving multiplayer games of 2018.

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege

[Read the review]

Ubisoft has been ambitious with its approach to sustaining its tactical first-person shooter Rainbow Six: Siege, and it’s been paying dividends big time. Following a mild launch in 2015, Ubisoft stuck with it by serving the player base with constant patches and major content drops which helped elevate the game’s great foundation. In 2018 alone, Rainbow Six Siege had four major content updates: Chimera, Para Bellum, Grim Sky, and Wind Bastion. Collectively, these updates brought eight operators, two new maps, major map changes, and numerous tweaks to how existing equipment and operators work. Ubisoft has been able to maintain a delicate balance even when introducing additional operators who bring new abilities and tactics to the table.

No two matches are the same with environmental destruction, countless tactical possibilities, and unique in-match situations. Siege continues to thrive by supporting its community, being transparent with its roadmap, and delivering a distinct, deep competitive shooter experience that keeps on giving.

Fortnite: Battle Royale

[Read the review]

If you had to point to the biggest story in all of games in 2018, you’d point to Fortnite. The free-to-play battle royale game has become a cultural phenomenon with the largest active play base in all of games, and propelled Epic Games to new heights of success. Fortnite separates itself from the pack by incorporating the building elements from the original Save The World mode which leads to so many tactical possibilities and unpredictable combat scenarios. But its rise in 2018 can be attributed to the impactful changes that come with each new season. Fortnite has been running on seasons which are broken into 10-week increments (its currently on season seven), and in this year alone, we’ve seen significant changes to the map, new weapons, different modes, inventive challenges, and wacky twists (like the limited time event that let you play as Marvel villain Thanos and use the Infinity Gauntlet to tear up opponents).

Sure, Fortnite still only has one map, but large swaths of it are hardly recognizable from its original layout as they’ve been reworked to fit a loose narrative that comes with each season. At one point rifts appeared that teleported players across the map, at another, a mysterious meteor came down to obliterate a whole town, and the swamp area eventually turned into a desert paradise. Fortnite has gone in so many different and intriguing directions already,, and it just keeps growing.

Overwatch

[Read the review]

Since its release in 2016, Overwatch established itself as a premier competitive shooter. It might not be much of a surprise considering Blizzard’s pedigree and history of finely crafting multiplayer experiences, but it was its first foray into first-person shooters. In 2018, Overwatch continued the tradition of seasonal festivities with new character skins, thematic changes to it presentation, and occasional modes to fit the event. For example, the annual Summer Games took place in Overwatch with its vaguely-Olympic theme and included new cosmetics and the return of Lucio Ball, the 3-on-3 Rocket League-esque game mode. Lunar New Year and brought a whole assortment of creative skins, and the Winter Wonderland event is happening this month. Overwatch Archive: Retribution brought back the four-player cooperative PvE mode from last year’s Uprising, but made some tweaks and offered new pieces of narrative. And of course, new heroes are always changing how the game is played; 2018 introduced Brigitte, Wrecking Ball, and Ashe, all characters with their own backstories and unique abilities. Between its updates, additional content, and competitive spirit, Overwatch isn’t slowing down any time soon.

Warframe

[Read the review]

Warframe is a prime example of how a game can completely transform itself into something greater over time. The free-to-play cooperative third-person shooter had two expansions in 2018, designated The Sacrifice and Fortuna. These updates delivered a slew of content and reworked several elements of the core game. The Sacrifice in particular had a whole solo-only campaign questline and rewarded players with the Excalibur Umbra warframe. However, Fortuna brought more significant changes to the game by introducing an entirely new open-world planet to explore with a neon-lit city below its snowy surface. Traversal also changed with the K-Drive hoverboard which players can customize to zip around the surface in fashion. For the more quiet moments, Fortuna has fishing and mining, and the new hunting activity. It’s Warframe’s biggest expansion yet that’s on PC and will soon be on PS4 and Xbox One. Speaking of platforms, Warframe is now available on Nintendo Switch; although it’s made some concessions to run properly, there’s nothing quite like it on that console-handheld hybrid.

Pokémon Go

[Read the review]

Pokémon Go is a unique experience that extends beyond the game itself. It’s very much that mobile AR game that got you up and out in the real world to catch Pokémon scattered throughout your city, but continual support has kept it alive and more active than ever before. This year, the game ushered in Gen 3 Pokémon (which brought over 130 additional creatures to collect) and have begun to rollout Gen 4 Pokémon along with a whole wave of super-rare Shiny forms. There’s also a weather system that accounts for the actual conditions in your environment; there are a number of status effects and boosts to certain types depending on the weather, like with rain that boost Bug, Electric, and Water type Pokémon.

Community events around the world have brought so many players together face-to-face to party up in real life to go on raids and catch new Pokémon. 2018 introduced Community Days that happen monthly and offer an exclusive move for a particular Pokémon that spawns at a higher rate and a shiny version of it to catch.

They say there’s no such thing as a free lunch, but whoever said that obviously doesn’t play PC games. While you can’t eat them, games often go free for a limited time on Steam. Case in point: this weekend you can grab the real-time strategy game Company of Heroes 2 for free. It’s yours to keep and play forever, no strings attached.

Company of Heroes 2 is a WWII-set RTS that first launched in 2013 (its fifth anniversary is the reason for the giveaway). The single-player campaign puts you in the boots of a Soviet commander in the Red Army tasked with pushing back against German invaders. Enemy forces aren’t all you have to worry about, as inclement weather can kill off your troops just as easily as a mortar team. The game also features meaty multiplayer modes that pit you against either AI or real opponents online.

In our Company of Heroes 2 review, Kyle VanOrd awarded the game 7.5/10, writing, “This is not a real-time strategy revolution, but a fun revival of enduring mechanics that pulls you into the trenches of the eastern front… Its barrage of online and offline skirmishes doesn’t always hit its mark. But when it finds its target, Company of Heroes 2 delivers a loud and mighty payload.”

If you try it and enjoy it, you can also pick up three of the DLC mission packs for 75% off, bringing them down to just a few bucks each. Company of Heroes 2 goes back up to regular price on December 10, so make sure to grab your free game by then.

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Alita: Battle Angel is the long-awaited live action adaptation of the classic manga, and it has been a dream project for writer/producer James Cameron for many years. The movie finally arrives in February 2019, and a first clip has now been released.

The clip was shown at The Game Awards in LA. It shows a confrontation between cybernetic fighting machine Alita (Rosa Salazar) and a trio of deadly assassins who have ambushed her and Dr. Ido (Christoph Waltz). It definitely captures the wild cyberpunk action of the source material–check it out above.

This clip follows the latest trailer, which recapped much of the basic plot and was released in October. Alita: Battle Angel also stars Jennifer Connelly (Hulk), Mahershala Ali (Moonlight, Luke Cage), Ed Skrein (Deadpool), and Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen). It’s directed by Sin City’s Robert Rodriguez.

The movie was originally set for release in July this year, but was delayed a couple of times and now hits theaters on February 14, 2019.

When the first trailer debuted last year, the movie attracted some controversy for the look of the title character–specifically, her large, unnatural eyes. Rodriguez explained at San Diego Comic Con in July that he wanted a realistic depiction of the source material, echoing James Cameron’s wishes to bring the manga to life.

Earth Defense Force 5 is a clear culmination point for a series that’s been around since the PlayStation 2, reaching a scale that could surprise even the most hardened of EDF veterans. While it retains many of the familiar tropes from the franchise–four player classes, a huge variety of missions, unlockable weapons and items, and obscenely terrible in-game dialogue that’s so bad it’s good–EDF 5 ratchets everything up to 11 and remarkably pulls it off. With bullet-hell style action and massive, open battlefields where every building is destructible, it feels like there’s no better time to get out there and save the world from rampaging space insects and their alien masters.

You play a nameless civilian who gets caught up in the invasion as the giant bugs start pummeling an EDF outpost. As you emerge from the underground base the scale of the attack becomes apparent, with you eventually joining the EDF and rising through the ranks to become Earth’s best hope for survival. It’s a fun, if typical, premise that plays out through the cheesiest in-game dialogue I’ve ever heard. It takes numerous hard turns, culminating in one of the most outlandish and audacious boss fights imaginable. Watching the story weave as it tries to connect the dots is like watching a slow motion trainwreck you cannot take your eyes away from–it’s so brash and ridiculous that you can’t help be charmed by it. Though while the dialogue and story can have you gritting your teeth at the levels of cringe, the action is something else entirely.

Before getting out onto the battlefield, you’re given a choice of playing through each mission with one of four character types, each with different play styles and their own customisable loadouts. The Ranger is the stock standard soldier type and by far the easiest to use in direct combat, while the Wing Diver is fast, good for close combat, and can fly herself out of dangerous situations. While you can play through any missions as any player type, some choices certainly made for an easier time than others. Choosing an Air Raider, a character who can request long-range cannon fire and vehicle drops, for an underground mission isn’t the best use of its skills. But the game will let you do it anyway, happily letting you test things out and work it out for yourself. Loading times are quick, so if you make a poor choice of loadout, it’s only a quick hop back to the menu to change it up before getting back out there.

Fighting the alien hordes can be a completely overwhelming experience. The scale of everything is imposing, especially when faced with a swarm of very angry bugs that are clawing and climbing over not just themselves but apartment buildings, factories, and homes to get at you. The maps are huge, giving you a wide playspace to enact your destruction, and for the most part they use that scale and space well. Calling in a bombing run as an Air Raider will zoom the camera out to show a wide shot of the area, with the sky lighting up bright orange as the bombs carpet the landing zone. Various vehicles like tanks and armored suits can be called in or found scattered around, and although they can feel pretty loose and unwieldy at the best of times, they are at least a good way to move from one side of the map to another or to put some space between yourself and the horde.

Player movement also feels a little sloppy. Moving from a standard run into a dash feels more cumbersome than it should, as does general running about. Thankfully, aiming feels snappy and tight, so regardless of whether you’re in tight space or out on a mountain overlooking a wide-open beachside, combat always feels more rewarding than not.

Replayability is encouraged through battle. As you chew through swarms of giant ants, spiders, carpet bugs and more, blasting them apart in a flurry of brightly-colored blood and chunks, and downed enemies will drop armor as well as weapon and health pickups. While the health pickups heal both you and your nearby AI allies–who you can find out in the battlefield and enlist under your supervision–weapon and armor pickups both manifest after the mission is over, giving you access to new and upgraded weaponry and a higher base HP number respectively. The difficulty level you play will also influence your rewards, with higher difficulties giving you stronger weapons with higher base stats, encouraging you to come back on a higher difficulty level to grind out better gear.

Although the offline single player is fun, EDF 5 and the differing play styles of each character type really come into their own in the cooperative multiplayer, where up to four people can join together and take on the entirety of the 110-mission-long campaign. Although offline and online campaign progress is separated, which annoyingly means you’ll need to play through the missions twice to unlock and access them in each, blasting through aliens with others takes the core gameplay to a new level. In one session, my Wing Diver went down while I was standing atop a large tower while attacking a mob of giant hornets. My co-op partner couldn’t reach me to revive me and instead resorted to destroying the tower, bringing me down with it so I could then be revived. Similarly, a guided missile weapon they were using as a Ranger took on a whole new level of lethality when combined with my laser sight to guide it for them, increasing its range far beyond its normal capability. Classes are balanced so they can helpfully support each other in unique ways, which you simply don’t get in the single-player mode where everything is put squarely on your shoulders.

For everything that’s happening on screen, with bullets, missiles, bodies and debris flying every which way, you might expect EDF 5 to experience frame drops on occasion. But only once did performance slow to crawl during an especially busy scene involving a mothership, a crumbling city, hundreds of enemies and a rainstorm. Some of the grimier textures and character models give it a dated look, though while it’s not the best-looking game around, it has the headroom to handle the sheer volume of things happening around you without severe performance hits when the action gets out of hand.

Despite the series’ long-running nature, Earth Defense Force 5 is a standout action game, revelling in its own absurdity while crafting a brilliantly fun and lively action game around it. Its huge battles are a joy to watch play out both from up close and afar, and the wide variety of weapons and play styles with each player type offers plenty of reason to come back for more after the final bullet has been fired.